Arc 2 : The Rat Gym Changbin

Changbin loved the gym. It was his sanctuary, the one place where he could push himself to his limits and feel a sense of control. The rhythmic sounds of weights clanging, the deep breaths as he powered through each set—it was his escape from the chaos of the world. Today, just like any other, he entered the gym with determination. His earphones were in, the beats of his playlist driving him forward as he started his workout routine. The music blasted in his ears, the heavy bass syncing with his every movement. It was almost like a rhythm that connected him to the very air in the room, a constant pulse that kept him going. But something was off. At first, it was subtle—a faint distortion in the music, something barely noticeable. Changbin paused for a second, adjusting the earphones, but then continued his sets. He couldn’t afford to stop now. He was on a roll, pushing himself harder than ever. But as the distortion grew louder, it became impossible to ignore. It wasn’t just a minor glitch in the sound anymore. The music was warping, turning into something unpleasant. Changbin frowned and reached up to adjust the earphone, but the sound didn’t improve. Instead, it morphed into a sharp, screeching noise—a high-pitched sound that scraped against his eardrums like nails on a chalkboard. He tried pulling the earphones out, but it was as if they were stuck to him, as if something was forcing the sound to stay inside his head. His hand trembled as he tried to disconnect them, but the noise was relentless—so piercing, so unbearable. It felt like it was attacking his very thoughts, a constant, grating scream that didn’t stop. “Ugh… what the hell is this?” Changbin muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth. But the noise wasn’t stopping. It was only growing louder, louder, louder—like a never-ending crescendo of pain. The world around him blurred, his vision swimming as the sound seemed to invade every corner of his mind. He tried to steady himself, but his legs felt weak, his balance unstable. His heart pounded in his chest, his head throbbing. The pressure built inside him, and he stumbled backward, his vision growing darker with each passing second. His hands clutched his ears, desperately trying to block out the noise, but it was no use. And then, it happened. A final, overwhelming wave of pressure hit him. It was as if the entire gym itself was shaking, the walls closing in on him. The last thing he felt was the ground beneath him slipping away. Changbin collapsed to the floor, his body going limp. The pain in his head and ears vanished, replaced by an eerie silence. But that silence was quickly replaced by a strange emptiness—an unsettling void where nothing made sense. --- Changbin awoke sometime later, but it was different. The gym was gone. The bright lights, the familiar equipment, the sounds of other people working out—none of it was there. Instead, he was surrounded by an unnatural stillness. The air felt thick and cold, yet there was no breeze. The ground beneath him was rough, like cracked stone. His limbs were heavy, his head aching, but the strangest thing was—he couldn’t remember how he got here. He sat up slowly, looking around. It was an unfamiliar place, a landscape devoid of any real features. The sky was muted, as if painted over with a dull gray film. There was no sign of life, no sound, no movement. Just silence. The kind of silence that felt suffocating. “Hello?” Changbin called out, his voice echoing in the empty space, but there was no response. He rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the disorientation. Was this some kind of dream? Or worse, was he still unconscious, trapped in some kind of strange limbo? His hand went to his ear, the earphones still there, but they weren’t playing music anymore. They were just... silent. He pulled them out, tossing them aside, but the strange silence remained. “Where... where am I?” he muttered, standing up and looking around again. He felt a wave of panic rise in his chest. He couldn’t make sense of anything. Nothing about this place felt real. It was as if time itself had stopped, and he was stuck in some kind of void between reality and a dream. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance. Changbin blinked, squinting to see who it was. The figure looked familiar, but his vision was still blurred from the disorienting feeling in his head. As he walked closer, his heart skipped a beat—it was Hyunjin. But there was something off about the way he moved. His steps were slow, deliberate, like he wasn’t fully there. “Hyunjin?” Changbin called, his voice uncertain. But the figure didn’t respond. It was as if he was walking toward him, but at the same time, staying far away. “Hyunjin!” Changbin shouted again, but his words seemed to fall flat, swallowed by the endless silence. But as he tried to move toward Hyunjin, the world around him shifted again. The landscape twisted and morphed, the colors fading, replaced by darker shadows. The ground beneath him trembled slightly as if it, too, was unsure of where it was supposed to be. Changbin’s heart raced as he tried to call out, to find a way out. But before he could make another move, everything went black again. His body collapsed to the ground, unconscious once more. --- Changbin’s body lay motionless on the cold, rough ground. The eerie silence of the space around him seemed to stretch on endlessly, like the world itself had forgotten time. Bangchan and Hyunjin, both stumbling through the vast nothingness, finally found their way to him. Their breath caught as they rushed forward, panic settling into their chests. “Changbin Hyung!” Hyunjin’s voice cracked, his eyes wide with disbelief. His gaze flickered over to Bangchan, who was already kneeling beside Changbin’s still form, checking for any signs of life. “Is he... okay?” Bangchan asked, his voice strained with worry. Hyunjin dropped down beside them, his hands shaking as he lightly tapped Changbin’s face, hoping for any response. But the only sound was the hollow echo of his fingers against Changbin’s skin. There was no sign of movement, no indication that he was awake. “We need to get him out of here,” Bangchan said, his voice sharp, though it was clear he wasn’t sure how. This place felt wrong—an alien dimension, where time and space no longer made sense. The longer they stayed, the more the confusion seemed to bleed into their thoughts. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was pulling at him, something he couldn’t grasp. Hyunjin glanced around, his eyes scanning the endless void they were trapped in. “Do you think this is... real? Or is it just a nightmare?” “I don’t know,” Bangchan admitted, his voice heavy with uncertainty. “But we need to get out of here, somehow. We need answers.” The two of them paused for a moment, the weight of their situation sinking in. Their world, the one they knew, was out of reach. They didn’t know how they got here, or why they were here—but they were stuck together in a place that didn’t belong to any of them. Suddenly, there was a strange shift in the air. The ground beneath them seemed to tremble, and an unsettling hum vibrated through the space. Both Hyunjin and Bangchan looked around quickly, their senses heightened. Was it an illusion? Or was there something—someone—else with them? “Chan hyu…ng..” Hyunjin whispered, his voice tight with fear, “I feel like we’re not alone here.” Bangchan didn’t respond immediately. Instead, his gaze locked onto something in the distance. A flicker of light in the otherwise void-like environment, a shape moving. He stood up abruptly, his muscles tense, his hand instinctively reaching out to grab Hyunjin’s arm. “Do you see that?” Bangchan’s voice was low, cautious. Hyunjin nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the strange silhouette moving through the darkness. Without another word, they began to move toward the flickering shape. Every step they took seemed to stretch the distance farther, the world around them growing more distorted with each passing second. The more they walked, the more they realized they were trapped in an endless loop, and the reality of their situation began to set in. “Changbin…hyu...ng..” Hyunjin murmured, glancing back at their unconscious friend. “We can’t leave him here.” “I know,” Bangchan replied. “We won’t. But something’s wrong. We need to figure out what this place is, and how to get back before it changes us.” They turned their attention back to the flickering figure, both of them filled with a growing sense of unease. The closer they got, the clearer it became that they were not alone. The world around them was shifting, warping in ways they couldn’t comprehend. The silence that once enveloped them now felt like a presence, watching and waiting. As they drew closer to the figure, the world around them seemed to stretch, bending time and space in ways that defied all logic. A low hum filled the air, rising steadily. A whisper brushed against their ears, a voice that didn’t belong. Then, in an instant, everything stopped. Time itself seemed to freeze. Bangchan and Hyunjin froze in place, hearts pounding in their chests. They couldn’t move. The ground beneath their feet felt as though it had vanished. The figure ahead of them disappeared into the darkness as if it had never been there. And then, all at once, the space around them flickered—like a television screen losing signal. They were pulled in different directions, the landscape around them shifting violently. Everything went black.